Verizon says Alltel deal to close Jan. 9

The $5.9 billion acquisition of cellular carrier Alltel Corp. by Verizon Wireless will close on Jan. 9, Verizon Communications Inc. said Friday in a regulatory filing.

The deal, which as announced in June, will make Verizon Wireless the country’s largest wireless carrier, with about 78 million subscribers.

Verizon Wireless had initially hoped to close the deal before the end of 2008, but the regulatory review stretched into December, later than expected. To gain approval for the deal, Verizon Wireless pledged to sell assets where its network overlaps with Alltel’s.

In addition to paying $5.9 billion for Alltel’s privately held equity, Verizon Wireless is assuming $22.2 billion in debt. Despite the difficult credit markets, Verizon said in December that it had received commitments from eight institutions to provide $17 billion of financing.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon Communications of New York and Vodafone Group PLC of the U.K.

Verizon says it will locate a call center in Little Rock, but many of the better paying jobs among Alltel’s 3,000 employees in the city are expected to be lost.

Alltel is based in Little Rock, Ark., and is the fifth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. Its wide-ranging wireless network covers mainly the interior of the country. The company’s early strategy mirrored that of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which built in rural areas first, moving into cities later.

An Alltel spokesman on Friday referred to Verizon questions about jobs after the closing. A Verizon spokeswoman said the company would provide more information on the closing date.

When Verizon President and Chief Executive Lowell McAdam addressed an audience in Little Rock in August, he said it would take a year after the closing to assess which positions to keep and which to cut.